4. Safe
Safe
I was freezing to death. The thin piece of plastic that curved over me did nothing but keep the wind from hitting me directly. Instead, it swirled around and chilled my face. The icy air had only gotten worse during the night and now that the sun had risen, I was pretty sure I was near death.
The shivering that had persisted all night had stopped some time ago.
I vaguely remembered hearing that was a bad sign, but there was nothing I could do to get warm.
The cold metal of the cab bit through the pajamas and uniform, both too thin to help much.
The blanket was too small to fully cover every part of me and I'd given up trying to fit inside it.
On top of everything, my bladder was urgently requesting a stop. I contemplated the wisdom of hanging off the edge of the cab and doing my business that way. One bump in the road, one pothole, and I'd fall and be crushed under the wheels.
This wasn't what I had in mind when I escaped. Granted, I hadn't realized it would be winter. That was a stupid move on my part. I'd gone into the center in winter, so obviously a year later, it would be winter.
Just as I was ready to attempt the butt hanging maneuver, the truck slowed and ground into a turn, bumping over gravel as it moved into a parking lot.
The movement stopped and the constant hum under me suddenly cut off as the driver turned the semi off.
The door opened and closed and footsteps crunched over the gravel.
Now my problem was getting down without anyone seeing me. I was stiff from the cold and the first step was a long way down.
"Just do it," I whispered to myself, unwrapping the blanket.
My swollen feet ached under the damp rags I'd tied around them.
I needed them to do just one more thing for me, get me to safety.
I wasn't sure how long I had before the driver came back.
Maybe he'd just gone to the bathroom. There was no time to sit around wondering if I could even make it back to the ground, so I unwrapped the blanket and dropped it to the ground before fumbling for the first step.
My foot slipped as I lowered myself and I fell, crashing to the gravel below with a yelp. My tailbone connected hard, and I felt the jolt right up to the base of my skull.
Flopping back on the ground, I fought back the cries that threatened to escape, sucking in breaths of icy air and feeling the heat of my tears running down my face. The blanket had partially cushioned me, but everything hurt as I struggled to my feet and repositioned the blanket around myself.
No one seemed to have seen anything. There were no shouts of discovery, no disapproving looks, or even footsteps crunching across the gravel. I let out a sigh of relief and peeked around the front of the semi.
Just like the truck stop where I'd found this truck, a diner sat invitingly, the scent of onions and grease heavy in the air.
Without money, I couldn't exactly go in and eat, so I hobbled painfully around the side of the building to the bathrooms. The women's room was small and cramped with just two stalls, but warmth hit me like a slap.
Bright fluorescent lights hummed overhead, making me squint after a long night of darkness.
It was with sheer relief that I peed and ran hot water over my hands. It felt like it was burning me but the skin didn't even turn pink. Then I realized there was a hand dryer. With a squeak of excitement, I hit the button and stuck my face under the stream of warm air, relishing the heat.
I spent a very long time in the bathroom, using the heater to warm my entire body and to thaw out my feet while drying the strips tied around them. The thought of going back out into the wintry afternoon made me shudder, but I couldn't live in a truck stop bathroom.
Finally, after preheating the blanket and wrapping it around myself, I eased out the door.
I'd pulled out the extra trash bin liners from the garbage cans and tied them around my feet to give some protection from the damp of the snow melting, with toilet paper to pad the bottoms. No one could see me like this, though, because it was obvious I wasn't your average person.
The cold hit like an old enemy, but I took a deep breath and marched around the back of the diner to the dumpster. While in the bathroom, I'd heard the dumpster lid clang a few times.
Clambering onto a stack of drink crates, I lifted the lid of the dumpster and peered in.
There were half-eaten meals dumped in there, wrapped in plastic bags.
Letting the lid rest on my back, I bent over and started to tear at the bags, pulling out half-eaten or abandoned sandwiches that were mostly intact.
I ignored anything dripping with sauce or soup.
After the equivalent of an entire sandwich, my belly stopped growling and the overwhelming need to sleep suddenly hit me.
"Not yet," I muttered to myself, stumbling away from the diner. Thick forest surrounded the truck stop. Maybe I could figure out some sort of shelter out here. Close enough to hop on another semi if needed, and food from the dumpster, but somewhere hidden away.
The woods were thick, nothing like the little forests I'd gone through before.
I had to push my way through the underbrush and weave around trees without a path to follow.
After a few minutes, I started to worry that I'd get lost, but when I looked back, my tracks were pretty obvious.
It wouldn't be hard to follow them back out of the forest.
When the trees opened into a clearing, I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I saw it. A dilapidated shed of some sort at the edge of the clearing, the roof sagging, but the door closed. It was shelter, and it would do just fine for right now.
It took some tugging to get the door open.
The wood had swollen with the damp and made it stick, but I was determined to get in and finally the wood gave way with a groan, scraping across the floor and flying back so I nearly tumbled over the threshold.
When I recovered, I stepped inside and smiled.
The shed was actually a very old cabin. There was a little potbelly stove in the back corner and a saggy metal bedframe with no mattress against one wall. Two moth-eaten blankets were draped over a rickety looking rocking chair and a tiny table with two chairs sat against the opposite wall.
There were no matches, and I had no idea how to start a fire without them, but it was warmer inside the cabin.
Summoning the last of my strength, I went outside and found as many low-hanging pine branches as possible and pulled them free to pile on the bed.
After covering the thick layer of pine with one of the holey blankets, I climbed into the makeshift bed and pulled the remaining blanket over myself, topping it off with the blanket I'd brought from the center.
It wasn't exactly warm, but it wasn't freezing like before. With a contented smile, I drifted off to sleep.
***
When I woke, it was completely dark and I had to pee again, thanks to drinking a lot of water while I was in the bathroom before.
With a groan, I crept out from under the blankets and went to the door, pushing it open and shivering at the cold that rushed in.
Forget it, I'd use the bucket in the corner.
Shutting the door swiftly, I used the bucket and shoved a piece of cardboard on top, wrinkling my nose. Back in bed, I drifted back into a fitful sleep almost immediately despite the cold. Light was peeking through the cracks around the door when I woke next.
"Good morning!" I sang out to myself, stretching and shivering.
I was cold and hungry, but free. No beta guards would zap me today and I was confident that I was far enough from the center that they wouldn't find me.
All I needed to do now was find some real clothes and figure out a way to get some money.
As an omega, I would stand out, but suppressants would dull my scent if I could get some.
The problems jangled around in my head, making it ache.
I was free, but to stay free, I'd have to be smart.
My reality settled heavily on my shoulders and I got up, digging around the cabin to see what was lying in the rusted locker to one side.
Under the bed, I found a moth-eaten summer jacket that would do for a coverup.
The interior was mostly chewed to bits, but the exterior was decent.
I pulled it on over my pajama top and zipped it, pleased to find the zipper still worked.
There were sandals in the locker. Not practical for winter, but they'd do. I put them on over the plastic and fabric on my feet, cinching them tightly so they fit.
I was as ready as I could be. Opening the door, I blinked at the bright light outside, reflecting off the snow, and stepped out. Straight into a broad chest.
Thick arms closed around me, and the scent of smoke and leather surrounded me. It was a safe smell, but the man holding me was anything but.